MORTON 
A  Memoir  of  William  Maclure,  Esq. 


QE 
22 

M2 
,YI7 
1844 


A 


MEMOIR 


WILLIAM  MACLURE,  ESQ.. 


BY 


SAMUEL  GEORGE  MORTON,  M.  D. 


ONE    OF    THE    VICE-PRESIDENTS    OF    THE    INSTITUTION. 

READ  JULY  1,  1841, 
AND  PUBLISHED  BY  DIRECTION  OF  THE  ACADEMY. 

SECOND  EDITION, 


PHILADELPHIA: 

MERIIIHEW      A  .V  1 1     THOMPSON,    PRINTS  US, 

No.  7  Carter's  Alley. 
1844. 


ALEXANDER  MACLURE,  ESQ. 

AND  TO 

MISS   ANNA    MACLURE, 
THIS    MEMOIR 

OF   THEIR 

ILLUSTRIOUS  BROTHER, 

IS 

MOST   RESPECTFULLY    INSCRIBED 
BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 


Hall  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia, 
July  t,  1841. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Society  held  this  evening,  Dr.  Morton,  pursuant 
to  appointment,  read  a  Memoir  of  Wm.  Maclure,  Esq.,  late  President  of  the 
Academy  :  whereupon  it  was  unanimously 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  the  Academy  have  listened  with  deep  inte- 
rest and  entire  satisfaction  to  the  Discourse  which  has  just  been  pronounced. 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Academy  be  presented  to  Dr.  SAMUEL 
GEORGE  MORTON  for  the  able,  faithful,  and  eloquent  memoir  of  our  late  lament- 
ed President,  WILLIAM  MACLURI,  this  evening  read  to  the  Society,  and  that 
he  be  requested  to  furnish  a  copy  of  the  same  for  publication. 

Resolved,  That  Prof.  Walter  R.  Johnson,  John  Price  Wetherill,  Esq.,  and 
Dr.  Robert  Bridges  be  a  committee  to  communicate  to  Dr.  Morton  the  foregoing 
Resolutions. 


Philadelphia,  July  2,  1841. 
To  SAMUEL  GEORGE  MORTOX,  M.  D. 

Dear  Sir — We  have  been  directed  by  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of 
Philadelphia  to  present  you  with  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  Resolutions,  and 
perform  a  duty  equally  grateful  to  our  own  feelings  and  expressive  of  the 
unanimous  sentiments  of  the  Society,  in  tendering  to  you  the  thanks  of  the 
Institution  for  your  admirable  performance  commemorative  of  our  late  lamented 
President. 

While  the  friends  and  cultivators  of  Science  mourn  their  recent  loss  and  pay 
homage  to  departed  worth  among  its  patrons,  they  will  not  fail  to  recognize  in 
such  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  dead,  a  vigorous  surviving  spirit  of  scien- 
tific devotion — a  pledge  that  the  generous  aspirations  in  our  cause  which  ceased 
only  with  the  life  of  Maclure,  will  find  an  ample  fulfilment  among  the  living 
recipients  of  his  munificence. 

Accept  sir,  with  the  thanks  of  the  Academy,  the  assurance  of  our  individual 
esteem  and  sincere  regard. 

WALTER  R.  JOHNSON,  ) 

JOHN  P.  WETHERILL,  V  Committee. 

ROBERT  BRIDGES,          \ 


Philadelphia,  July  3,  1841. 

GENTLEMEN — In  reply  to  your  note  of  yesterday,  and  the  accompanying 
Resolutions,  permit  me  to  express,  through  you,  my  grateful  acknowledgments 
to  the  members  of  the  Academy  for  the  flattering  manner  in  which  they  have 
received  my  memoir  of  the  late  William  Maclure. 

During  a  connection  of  many  years  with  our  Institution,  it  has  been  my 
constant  aim  to  advance  its  interests,  which  are  strictly  identified  with  those  of 
Science ;  and  if  my  efforts  have  been  in  any  degree  successful,  I  shall  ever  find 
an  ample  reward  in  the  approbation  of  my  Associates. 

I  remain,  gentlemen,  with  sincere  esteem, 

Your  very  obliged  friend  and  servant, 

SAMUEL  GEORGE  MORTON. 
To  Prof.  WALTER  R.  JOHNSON, 

JOHX  PRICK  WETHERII.L,  Esq.,  and  ^.  Committee. 
ROBERT  BRIDOES,  M.  D., 


MEMOIR 


WILLIAM  MACLURE,   ESQ. 


THE  most  pleasing  province  of  Biography  is  that, 
which  commemorates  the  sway  of  the  affections. 
These,  however  variously  expressed,  tend  to  the  dif- 
fusion of  religion,  of  virtue  and  of  knowledge,  and 
consequently  of  Happiness.  He  who  feeds  the  hun- 
gry, or  soothes  the  sorrowful,  or  encourages  merit,  or 
disseminates  truth,  justly  claims  the  respect  and  gra- 
titude of  the  age  in  which  he  lives,  and  consecrates 
his  name  in  the  bosom  of  posterity.  The  benefac- 
tions of  a  liberal  mind  not  only  do  good  of  themselves, 
but  incite  the  same  spirit  in  others ;  for  who  can  be- 
hold the  happy  results  of  useful  and  benevolent  en- 
terprise, and  not  feel  the  godlike  impulse  to  partici- 
pate in  and  extend  them  ? 

The  study  of  Natural  History  in  this  country, 
though  late  in  attracting  general  attention,  has  ex- 
panded with  surprising  rapidity.  Thirty  years  ago 
all  our  naturalists  were  embraced  in  a  few  cultivators 


8  MEMOIR   OF 

of  Botany  and  Mineralogy,  while  the  other  branches 
were  comparatively  unheeded  and  unknown.  The 
vast  field  of  inquiry  was  devoid  of  labourers,  excepting 
here  and  there  a  solitary  individual  who  pursued  the 
sequestered  paths  of  Science,  filled  with  an  enthu- 
siasm of  which  the  busy  world  knew  nothing.  How 
widely  different  is  the  scene  which  now  presents  it- 
self to  our  view !  We  see  the  unbounded  resources 
of  the  land  brought  forth  to  the  light  of  day,  and  made 
to  minister  to  the  wants  and  the  intelligence  of  hu- 
manity. Every  region  is  explored,  every  locality  is 
anxiously  searched  for  new  objects  of  utility,  or  new 
sources  of  study  and  instruction. 

In  connection  with  these  gratifying  facts,  it  will 
be  reasonably  inquired,  who  were  they  who  fostered 
the  early  infancy  of  Science  in  our  country  ?  Who 
were  they  who  stood  forth r  unmindful  of  the  sneer  of 
ignorance  and  the  frown  of  prejudice,  to  unveil  the 
fascinating  truths  of  Nature  ? 

Among  the  most  zealous  and  efficient  of  these  pio- 
neers of  discovery  was  WILLIAM  MACLDRE. 

This  gentleman,  the  son  of  David  and  Ann  Ma- 
clure,  was  born  at  Ayr  in  Scotland,  in  the  year  1763 ; 
and  he  there  received  the  primary  part  of  his  educa- 
tion under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Douglass,  an  intelligent 
teacher,  who  was  especially  reputed  for  classical  and 
mathematical  attainments.  His  pupil's  strong  mind 
readily  acquired  the  several  branches  of  a  liberal 


WILLIAM     MACLURE.  9 

education;  but  he  has  often  remarked,  that  from 
childhood  he  was  disposed  to  reject  the  learning  of 
the  schools  for  the  simpler  and  more  attractive  truths 
of  natural  history.  The  active  duties  of  life,  however, 
soon  engrossed  his  time  and  attention;  and  at  the 
early  age  of  nineteen  years  he  visited  the  United 
States  with  a  view  to  mercantile  employment.  He 
landed  in  the  city  of  New  York;  and  having  made 
the  requisite  arrangements,  returned  without  delay  to 
London,  where  he  commenced  his  career  of  commer- 
cial enterprise  as  a  partner  in  the  house  of  Miller, 
Hart  &  Co.  He  devoted  himself  to  business  with 
great  assiduity,  and  speedily  reaped  a  corresponding 
reward.  In  the  year  1796  he  again  visited  America, 
in  order  to  arrange  some  unsettled  business  of  the 
parent  establishment :  but  in  1803  we  find  him  once 
more  in  England,  not,  however,  as  a  merchant,  but  in 
the  capacity  of  a  public  functionary ;  for  Mr.  Maclure 
was  at  this  time  appointed  a  commissioner  to  settle 
the  claims  of  American  citizens  on  the  government 
of  France,  for  spoliations  committed  during  the  revo- 
lution in  that  country.  In  this  arduous  and  respon- 
sible trust  Mr.  Maclure  was  associated  with  two  col- 
leagues, John  Fenton  Mercer  and  Cox  Barnet,  Esqs. ; 
and  by  the  ability  and  diligence  of  this  commission, 
the  object  of  their  appointment  was  accomplished  to 
general  satisfaction. 

During  the  few  years  which  Mr.  Maclure  passed 
on  the  Continent  in  attention  to  these  concerns,  he 


10  MEMOIROF 

took  occasion  to  visit  many  parts  of  Europe  for  the 
purpose  of  collecting  objects  in  Natural  History,  and 
forwarding  them  to  the  United  States — which  from 
his  boyhood  had  been  to  him  the  land  of  promise,  and 
subsequently  his  adopted  country.  With  this  design 
he  traversed  the  most  interesting  portions  of  the  old 
world,  from  the  Mediterranean  Sea  to  the  Baltic,  and 
from  the  British  Islands  to  Bohemia.  Geology  had 
become  the  engrossing  study  of  his  mind;  and  he 
pursued  it  with  an  enthusiasm  and  success  to  which 
time,  toil  and  distance  presented  but  temporary  ob- 
stacles. 

Instructed  by  these  researches,  Mr,  Maclure  was 
prepared,  on  his  return  to  the  United  States,  to  com- 
mence a  most  important  scientific  enterprise,  and  one 
which  he  had  long  contemplated  as  the  great  object 
of  his  ambition,  viz. :  a  Geological  Survey  of  the  United 
States. 

In  this  extraordinary  undertaking  we  have  a  forci- 
ble example  of  what  individual  effort  can  accomplish, 
unsustained  by  government  patronage,  and  unassisted 
by  collateral  aids.  At  a  time  when  scientific  pursuits 
were  little  known  and  still  less  appreciated  in  this 
country,  he  commenced  his  herculean  task.  He  went 
forth  with  his  hammer  in  his  hand  and  his  wallet  on 
his  shoulder,  pursuing  his  researches  in  every  di- 
rection, often  amid  pathless  tracks  and  dreary  soli- 
tudes, until  he  had  crossed  and  recrossed  the  Alle- 
ghany  mountains  no  less  than  fifty  times.  He  en- 


WILLIAM     MACLURE.  11 

countered  all  the  privations  of  hunger,  thirst,  fatigue 
and  exposure,  month  after  month,  and  year  after  year, 
until  his  indomitable  spirit  had  conquered  every  diffi- 
culty, and  crowned  his  enterprise  with  success. 

Mr.  Maclure's  observations  were  made  in  almost 
every  state  and  territory  in  the  Union,  from  the  river 
St.  Lawrence  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico ;  and  the  Me- 
moir which  embraced  his  accumulated  facts,  was  at 
length  submitted  to  the  American  Philosophical  So- 
ciety, and  printed  in  their  transactions  for  the  year 
]809.* 

Novel  as  this  work  was,  and  replete  with  important 
details,  its  author  did  not  suspend  his  researches  with 
its  publication,  but  resumed  them  on  a  yet  more  ex- 
tended scale,  in  order  to  obtain  additional  materials, 
and  test  the  correctness  of  his  previous  views.  In 
after  life  he  often  recurred  with  pleasure  to  the  inci- 
dents connected  with  this  survey ;  some  of  which, 
though  vexatious  at  the  time,  were  subsequently  the 
theme  of  amusing  anecdote.  When  travelling  in 
some  remote  districts,  the  unlettered  inhabitants  see- 
ing him  engaged  in  breaking  the  rocks  with  his  ham- 
mer, supposed  him  to  be  a  lunatic  who  had  escaped 
from  confinement;  and  on  one  occasion,  as  he  drew 
near  a  public  house,  the  inmates,  being  informed  of 

*  The  memoir  is  entitled,  "  Observations  on  the  Geology  of  the 
United  States,  explanatory  of  a  Geological  Map."  It  was  read 
January  20, 1809,  and  is  published  in  the  sixth  volume  of  the  So- 
ciety's Transactions. 


12  MEMOIR    OF 

his  approach,  took  refuge  in- doors,  and  closing  the 
entrance  held  a1  parley  from  the  windows,  until  they 
were  at  length  convinced  that  the  stranger  could  be 
safely  admitted. 

Incidents  of  this  kind,  and  many  others  which  oc- 
curred to  him,  appear  to  have  influenced  the  following 
remarks  in  the  Preface  to  his  Geology :  "  All  inquiry 
into  the  nature  and  properties  of  rocks,  or  the  relative 
situation  they  occupy  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  has 
been  much  neglected.  It  is  only  since  a  few  years 
that  it  has  been  thought  worth  the  attention  of  either 
the  learned  or  unlearned;  and  even  now  a  great  pro- 
portion of  both  treat  such  investigations  with  con- 
tempt, as  beneath  their  notice.  Why  mankind  should 
have  so  long  neglected  to  acquire  knowledge  so  use- 
ful to  the  progress  of  civilization — why  the  substances 
over  which  they  have  been  daily  stumbling,  and 
without  whose  aid  they  could  not  exercise  any  one 
art  or  profession,  should  be  the  last  to  occupy  their 
attention — is  one  of  those  problems  perhaps  only  to 
be  solved  by  an  analysis  of  the  nature  and  origin  of 
the  power  of  the  few  over  the  many." 

Notwithstanding  that  Mr.  Maclure  thus  felt  him- 
self almost  alone  in  his  pursuits  in  this  country,  he 
did  not  relax  his  ardour  in  the  cause  of  science,  but 
continued  to  extend  and  complete  his  Geological  sur- 
vey ;  which,  after  receiving  his  final  revisions,  was 
again  presented  to  the  Philosophical  Society  on  the 
16th  of  May,  1817,  eight  years  after  their  reception 


WILLIAM     MACLURE.  13 

of  the  original  draft.  The  amended  memoir  was 
now  republished,  both  in  the  Society's  transactions 
and  in  a  separate  volume,  accompanied  by  a  coloured 
map  and  sections;  and  while  it  placed  its  author 
among  the  first  of  living  Geologists,  excited  a  thirst 
for  inquiry  and  comparison  which  has  continued  to 
extend  its  influence  over  every  section  of  our  coun- 
try. 

It  is  not  proposed  in  this  place  to  analyze  this 
valuable  contribution  to  American  Science.  It  may 
be  sufficient  to  remark,  that  every  one  conversant 
with  Geology  is  surprised  at  the  number  and  accu- 
racy of  Mr.  Maclure's  observations;  for  the  many 
surveys  which  have  been  recently  conducted  in 
almost  every  state  in  the  Union,  have  only  tended  to 
confirm  his  correctness  as  to  the  extent  and  relative 
position  of  the  leading  Geological  formations  of  this 
country;  while  the  genius  and  industry  which  could 
accomplish  so  much,  must  command  the  lasting  re- 
spect and  admiration  of  those  who  can  appreciate 
the  triumphs  of  Science.  In  the  evening  of  his  days 
Mr.  Maclure  beheld  with  unmixed  pleasure,  the  pro- 
gress of  Geology  in  his  adopted  country:  he  saw 
State  after  State  directing  Geological  surveys  under 
the  supervision  of  zealous  and  able  naturalists :  he 
rejoiced  to  observe  how  their  observations  harmonized 
with  his  own;  and  it  was  among  his  most  pleasing 
reflections,  as  age  and  infirmity  drew  near,  that  he 
had  once  trodden  almost  solitary  and  unheeded,  that 


14  MEMOIR     OF 

path  which  is  now  thronged  with  votaries  of  science 
and  aspirants  for  honour. 

In  truth,  what  among  temporal  considerations  is 
more  remarkable  and  gratifying  than  the  progress 
which  has  been  made  in  elucidating  the  Geology  of 
this  country  during  the  past  thirty  years?  So  ex- 
tended a  field,  so  many  obstacles,  and  so  little  patron- 
age, seemed  at  first  view  to  present  insuperable  diffi- 
culties ;  and  it  was  feared,  and  not  without  reason, 
that  while  every  part  of  Europe  was  explored  under 
the  patronage  of  national  governments,  the  vast  natu- 
ral resources  of  this  country  would  long  remain  un- 
searched  and  unimproved ;  not  for  the  want  of  zeal 
and  talent,  but  from  a  deficiency  of  that  encourage- 
ment which  is  necessary  to  great  and  persevering 
exertion.  Happily,  however,  the  day  of  doubt  has 
passed;  and  our  State  governments  now  vie  with 
each  other  in  revealing  those  buried  treasures  which 
minister  so  largely  to  the  wealth,  the  comfort  and  the 
intelligence  of  man. 

The  time  which  Mr.  Maclure  allotted  to  repose 
from  his  Geological  pursuits  was  chiefly  passed  in 
Philadelphia ;  where  he  watched  the  rise  of  a  young 
but  promising  institution,  devoted  exclusively  to  Na- 
tural History,  and  numbering  among  its  members 
whatever  our  city  then  possessed  of  scientific  taste 
and  talent.  This  institution  was  the  ACADEMY  OF 
NATURAL  SCIENCES  OF  PHILADELPHIA;  and  as  its 
history,  from  this  period,  is  inseparably  connected 


WILLIAM     MACLURE.  15 

with  the  life  of  Mr.  Maclure,  let  us  briefly  inquire 
into  its  origin  and  progress. 

The  Academy  was  founded  in  January,  1812,  at 
which  period  a  few  gentlemen,  at  first  but  seven  in 
number,  resolved  to  meet  once  in  every  week  for  the 
purpose  of  conversing  on  scientific  subjects,  and  thus 
communicating  to  each  other  the  results  of  their 
reading,  observation  and  reflection. 

Although  Mr.  Maclure  was  absent  from  the  city 
at  the  initiatory  meeting,  he  had  no  sooner  returned 
than  his  name  was  enrolled  on  the  list  of  members ; 
and  from  that  hour,  and  with  this  circumstance,  the 
prosperity  of  the  institution  commenced.  Arrange- 
ments were  soon  after  entered  into  for  the  delivery 
of  courses  of  lectures,  chiefly  on  Chemistry  and 
Botany ;  and  the  library  and  museum  were  at  once 
replenished  with  books  and  specimens  from  Mr. 
Maclure's  European  collections. 

On  the  30th  of  December,  1817,  Mr.  Maclure 
was  elected  President  of  the  Academy;  to  which 
office  of  confidence  and  honour  he  was  annually  re- 
elected  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  a  period  of  more 
than  twenty-two  years. 

Under  his  auspices  the  Journal  of  the  Academy 
(which  now  numbers  eight  octavo  volumes)  was 
commenced  with  energy  and  talent ;  and  such  was 
his  interest  in  its  progress,  that  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  first  volume  was  printed  in  an  apartment  of 
his  own  house. 


16  M  E  M  0  I  R     O  F 

Among  the  most  ardent  of  Mr.  Maclure's  colleagues 
at  this  time,  was  Mr.  Thomas  Say,  a  gentleman  who 
united  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  love  of  science 
and  the  social  virtues.  Enthusiastic  in  his  favorite 
studies,  and  possessed  of  a  singular  tact  for  detecting 
the  varied  relations  of  organized  beings,  he  early 
attracted  the  notice  and  secured  the  esteem  of  Mr. 
Maclure;  and  the  friendship  which  thus  grew  up 
between  them,  continued  unaltered  by  time  or  cir- 
cumstance to  the  end  of  life.  How  much  the 
Academy  and  the  cause  of  Natural  History  owe  to 
the  united  eiForts  of  these  gentlemen,  I  need  not 
declare ;  for  not  only  here,  but  wherever  their  fa- 
vourite pursuits  are  loved  and  cultivated,  their  names 
will  be  inseparably  interwoven  with  the  records  and 
the  honours  of  science. 

During  the  year  1817,  Mr.  Maclure  chiefly  occu- 
pied himself  in  the  publication  of  his  Geology  in  a 
separate  volume;  after  which  he  devoted  himself 
with  assiduity  to  the  interests  of  the  Academy. 
Previous  to  the  year  1819,  he  had  already  presented 
the  institution  with  the  larger  part  of  the  fine  library 
he  had  collected  in  Europe,  embracing  nearly  fifteen 
hundred  volumes ;  among  which  were  six  hundred 
quartos  and  one  hundred  and  forty-six  folios  on  natu- 
ral history,  antiquities,  the  fine  arts,  voyages  and 
travels.  "The  value  of  these  acquisitions  was 
greatly  enhanced  by  the  fact  that  they  were  possessed 
by  no  other  institution  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 


WILLIAM     MA.CLURE.  17 

The  Academy,  therefore,  derived  from  this  source,  a 
prosperity  and  permanence  which,  under  other  cir- 
cumstances, must  have  been  extremely  slow  and 
uncertain ;  while  Science  at  the  same  time  received 
an  impulse  which  has  never  faltered,  and  which  has 
been  subsequently  imparted  to  every  section  of  our 
country."  * 

In  the  winter  of  1816-17,  Mr.  Maclure  visited  the 
West  Indies,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining,  by  per- 
sonal observation,  the  Geology  of  the  chain  of  islands 
known  as  the  Antilles.  With  this  view  he  visited 
and  examined  nearly  twenty  of  these  islands  in  the 
Caribean  sea,  from  Barbadoes  to  Santa  Cruz  and 
St.  Thomas  inclusive.  He  bestowed  especial  atten- 
tion on  those  portions  of  the  series  which  are  of 
volcanic  origin,  of  which  the  Grenadines  form  the 
southern,  and  Saba  the  northern  end  of  the  chain. 
The  results  of  this  voyage  of  observation,  in  which 
he  was  accompanied  by  his  friend  Mr.  Lesueur,  were 
submitted  to  the  Academy  on  the  28th  of  October, 
1817,  and  soon  afterwards  published  in  the  Society's 
Journal,  f 

In  1819  Mr.  Maclure's  active  mind  was  again 
directed  to  Europe.  Embarking  at  New  York,  he 
went  direct  to  France,  and  not  long  afterwards  to 
Spain.  He  was  induced  to  visit  the  latter  country 

*  Notice  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  p.  13. 

t  Journal  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  vol.  i. 
3 


18  M  E  M  O  I  R   O  F 

on  account  of  the  liberal  constitution  promulgated 
by  the  Cortes,  which  promised  a  comparatively  free 
government  to  a  country  long  oppressed  by  every 
species  of  bondage.  His  plan  was  to  establish  a  great 
agricultural  school,  in  which  physical  labour  should 
be  combined  with  moral  and  intellectual  culture. 
His  views  were  almost  exclusively  directed  to  the 
lower  and  consequently  uneducated  classes,  whom 
he  hoped  to  elevate  above  the  thraldom  to  which 
they  had  been  subjected  by  the  institutions  of  their 
country.  He  purchased  of  the  government  10,000 
acres  of  land  near  the  city  of  Alicant;  and  having 
repaired  the  buildings,  and  placed  the  estate  in  com- 
plete order,  he  prepared  to  commence  his  scheme  of 
practical  benevolence.  Scarcely,  however,  were  these 
arrangements  made  when  the  Constitutional  govern- 
ment was  overthrown,  and  the  old  institutions,  with 
all  their  abuses,  were  again  imposed  upon  this  unfor- 
tunate country.  The  property  which  Mr.  Maclure 
had  purchased  from  the  Cortes  had  been  confiscated 
from  the  Church ;  and  as  the  priesthood  were  now 
re-invested  in  their  estates,  they  at  once  dispossessed 
him  without  ceremony  or  reimbursement. 

Disappointed  and  mortified  by  this  adverse  termi- 
nation of  his  plans,  Mr.  Maclure  abandoned  them  as 
hopeless,  and  prepared  to  return  to  the  United  States. 
Before  doing  so,  however,  he  visited  various  parts  of 
southern  Spain  with  a  view  to  scientific  investigation. 
But  even  in  this  unoffending  employment  he  found 


WILLAMMACLURE.  19 

himself  surrounded  by  new  dangers,  which  compelled 
him  to  relinquish  much  that  he  had  proposed  to  ac- 
complish in  these  researches ;  and  his  feelings,  and 
the  causes  which  gave  rise  to  them,  are  forcibly  ex- 
pressed in  a  letter  to  his  friend  Professor  Silliman, 
dated  Alicant,  March  6,  1824. 

"  I  have  been  much  disappointed  in  being  prevented 
from  executing  my  Mineralogical  excursions  in  Spain, 
by  the  bands  of  powerful  robbers  that  have  long  in- 
fested the  astonishingly  extended  surface  of  unculti- 
vated and  inhospitable  wilds  in  this  naturally  delight- 
ful country.  Not  that  I  require  any  money  worth 
the  robbing  to  supply  me  with  all  that  I  need — for 
the  regimen  which  I  adopt  for  the  promotion  of  my 
health,  demands  nothing  but  water  and  a  very  small 
quantity  of  the  most  common  food — but  these  barba- 
rians have  adopted  the  Algerine  system  of  taking  you, 
as  a  slave,  to  the  mountains,  where  they  exact  a  ran- 
som of  as  many  thousand  dollars  as  they  conceive  the 
property  you  possess  will  enable  you  to  pay."* 

On  returning  to  the  United  States  in  1824,  Mr. 
Maclure  was  still  intent  on  establishing  an  Agricul- 
tural School  on  a  plan  similar  to  that  he  had  attempted 
in  Spain.  At  this  juncture  the  settlement  at  New 
Harmony,  in  Indiana,  had  been  purchased  by  the  ec- 
centric author  of  the  Social  System ;  and  many  in- 
telligent persons,  deceived  by  a  plausible  theory,  went 
forth  to  join  the  Utopian  colony ;  and  Mr.  Maclure 
*American  Journal  of  Science,  vol.  viii,  p.  187. 


20  M  E  M  O  I  R    0  F 

himself,  willing  to  test  the  validity  of  a  system  which 
seemed  to  promise  something  for  human  advantage, 
resolved  to  establish,  in  the  same  locality,  his  pro- 
posed Agricultural  school.  He  did  not,  at  the  same 
time,  adopt  all  the  peculiar  views  of  this  fugitive  com- 
munity, to  many  of  which,  in  fact,  he  was  decidedly 
opposed ;  but  he  consented  to  compromise  a  part  of 
his  own  opinions  in  order  to  accomplish,  in  his  own 
phrase,  "the  greatest  good  for  the  greatest  number." 
For  this  purpose  he  forwarded  to  New  Harmony  his 
private  library,  philosophical  instruments  and  col- 
lections in  Natural  History,  designing,  by  these  and 
other  means,  to  make  that  locality  the  centre  of  edu- 
cation in  the  West.  That  the  Social  scheme  .was 
speedily  and  entirely  abortive,  is  a  fact  familiar  to 
every  one;  but  Mr.  Maclure  having  purchased  ex- 
tensive tracts  of  land  in  the  town  and  vicinity  of  New 
Harmony,  continued  to  reside  there  for  several  years, 
in  the  hope  of  bringing  his  school  into  practical  ope- 
ration. 

In  leaving  Philadelphia  for  New  Harmony,  Mr. 
Maclure  induced  several  distinguished  naturalists  to 
bear  him  company,  as  coadjutors  in  his  educational 
designs ;  and  among  them  were  Mr.  Say,  Mr.  Lesueur, 
Dr.  Troost,  and  a  few  others,  who  had  already  earned 
an  enviable  scientific  reputation. 

For  various  reasons  which  need  not  be  discussed 
in  this  place,  the  School  did  not  fulfil  the  expectations 
of  its  founder,  who  was  at  length  constrained  to  re- 


WILLIAM    MACLURE.  21 

linquish  it ;  and  the  less  reluctantly  as  the  approach 
of  age,  and  the  increasing  delicacy  of  his  constitution, 
admonished  him  of  the  necessity  of  seeking  a  more 
genial  climate.     We  accordingly  find  him,  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1827,  embarking  for  Mexico  in  company  with 
his  friend  Mr.  Say.     They  passed  the  winter  in  that 
delightful  country ;  and  employed  their  time  in  ob- 
serving and  recording  the  various  new  facts  in  science 
which  there  presented  themselves;  ^and  on  the  ap- 
proach of  summer  they  returned  to  the  United  States. 
Mr.  Maclure  was  so  pleased  with  the  climate  of 
Mexico,  and  so  solicitous  to  study  the  social  and  po- 
litical institutions  of  the  country,  that  he  determined 
to  return  the  same  year;   and  with  this  intent  he 
visited  Philadelphia,  proceeded  thence  to  New  Haven, 
and  presided  for  the  last  time  at  a  meeting  of  the 
American  Geological  Society  in  that  city  on  the  17th 
of  November,  1828.     Of  this  institution  he  had  also 
long  been  President,  and  took  an  active  interest  in 
its  prosperity,  which  was  strengthened  by  his  regard 
for  his  friend  Professor  Silliman — a  man  justly  es- 
teemed for  his  zealous  and  successful  exertions  to 
advance  the  interests  of  Science,  as  well  as  for  his 
extensive  acquirements  and  his  many  virtues.     On 
this  occasion  Mr.  Maclure  declared  his  intention  to 
bring  back  with  him  from  Mexico  a  number  of  young 
native  Indians,  in  order  to  have  them  educated  in  the 
United  States,  and  subsequently  diifuse  the  benefits 
of  instruction  among  the  people  of  their  own  race. 


22  M  E  M  0  I  R     O  F 

This  benevolent  object,  however,  was  not  accom- 
plished ;  for  in  the  ordering  of  Providence  he  did  not 
live  to  return. 

From  New  Haven  Mr.  Maclure  proceeded  to  New 
York,  and  embarked  for  Mexico.  Time  and  distance, 
however,  could  not  estrange  him  from  that  solicitude 
which  he  had  long  cherished  for  the  advancement  of 
education  in  his  adopted  country;  and  from  his  re- 
mote residence  he  kept  a  constant  correspondence 
with  his  friends  in  the  United  States,  among  whom 
was  the  author  of  this  memoir. 

Mr.  Say*  died  in  1834,  at  New  Harmony;  and 
Mr.  Maclure  was  thus  deprived  of  one  his  oldest 
and  firmest  friends.  The  loss  seemed  for  a  time  to 
render  him  wavering  as  to  his  future  plans;  but  con- 
vinced, on  reflection,  that  his  educational  projects  in 
the  West  could  be  no  longer  fostered  or  sustained, 
he  resolved  to  transfer  his  library  at  New  Harmony 
to  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences.  This  rich  do- 

*Mr.  Say  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Academy;  and 
among  the  last  acts  of  his  life,  he  provided  for  the  further  utility 
of  the  institution  by  requesting  that  it  should  become  the  depo- 
sitory of  his  books  and  collections.  This  verbal  bequest  was 
happily  confided  to  one  whose  feelings  and  pursuits  were  conge- 
nial to  his  own  ;  and  the  Academy  is  indebted  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Say,  for  some  of  its  most  valuable  acquisitions. 

An  interesting  and  eloquent  Memoir  of  Mr.  Say,  was  written 
by  Dr.  Benjamin  Hornor  Coates,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Academy  in  1835. 


WILLIAM    MACLURE.  23 

nation  was  announced  to  the  Society  in  the  autumn 
of  1835;  and  Dr.  Charles  Pickering,  who  had  been 
for  several  years  librarian  of  the  institution,  was  de- 
puted to  superintend  the  conveyance  of  the  books  to 
Philadelphia ;  a  trust  which  was  speedily  and  safely 
accomplished. 

This  second  library  contained  2259  volumes,  em- 
bracing, like  the  former  one,  works  in  every  depart- 
ment of  useful  knowledge,  but  especially  Natural 
History  and  the  Fine  Arts,  together  with  an  extensive 
series  of  maps  and  charts. 

Mr.  Maclure's  liberality,  however,  was  not  con- 
fined to  a  single  institution :  the  American  Geologi- 
cal Society,  established,  as  we  have  already  mention- 
ed, at  New  Haven,  partook  largely  of  his  benefactions 
both  in  books  and  specimens ;  and  in  reference  to 
these  repeated  contributions,  Professor  Silliman  has 
expressed  the  following  brief  but  just  and  beautiful 
acknowledgment:  "This  gentleman's  liberality  to 
purposes  of  science  and  humanity  has  been  too  often 
and  too  munificently  experienced  in  this  country,  to 
demand  any  eulogium  from  us.  It  is  rare  that  afflu- 
ence, liberality  and  the  possession  and  love  of  science 
unite  so  signally  in  the  same  individual."* 

Since  the  year  1826  the  academy  had  occupied  an 
edifice  in  some  respects  well  adapted  to  its  objects ; 
but  the  extent  and  value  of  the  library,  suggested  to 

*  Amer.  Jour,  of  Science,  vol.  iii.  p.  362. 


24  MEMOIR     OF 

Mr.  Maclure  the  necessity  of  a  fire-proof  building. 
In  order  to  accomplish  this  object  he  first  transferred 
to  the  society  a  claim  of  an  unsettled  estate  for  the 
sum  of  five  thousand  dollars,  which  was  followed^  in 
1837  by  a  second  donation  of  the  same  amount. 
Meanwhile,  having  matured  the  plan  of  the  new 
Hall  of  the  Academy,  and  having  explained  his  views 
to  the  members,  he  transmitted,  in  1838,  an  addition- 
al subscription  for  ten  thousand  dollars. 

Thus  sustained  by  the  splendid  liberality  of  their 
venerable  President,  the  Society  proceeded  without 
delay  in  the  erection  of  a  new  building.  The  corner 
stone  was  laid  at  the  corner  of  Broad  and  George 
streets,  with  due  form  on  the  25th  of  May  1839 ; 
on  which  occasion  an  appropriate  Address  was  deli- 
vered by  Professor  Johnson.  The  edifice  thus  au- 
spiciously begun,  was  conducted  without  delay  to 
completion ;  so  that  the  first  meeting  of  the  Society 
within  its  walls  was  held  on  the  7th  day  of  February 
1840. 

Mr.  Maclure  had  fervently  desired  and  fully  ex- 
pected to  revisit  Philadelphia ;  but  early  in  the  year 
1839  his  constitution  suffered  several  severe  shocks 
of  disease,  and  from  that  period  age  and  its  varied 
infirmities  grew  rapidly  upon  him.  ^Under  these 
circumstances  be  became  more  than  ever  'solicitous 
to  return  to  the  United  States,  to  enjoy  again  the  com- 
panionship of  his  family  and  friends,  and  to  end  his 


WILLIAM     M  A  C  L  U  R  E.  25 

days  in  that  laud  which  had  witnessed  alike  his  pros- 
perity and  his  munificence. 

He  made  repeated  efforts  to  accomplish  this  last 
wish  of  his  heart;  and  finally  arranged  with  his 
friend  Dr.  Burrough,  then  United  States  Consul  at 
Vera  Cruz,  to  meet  him  at  Jalapa  with  a  litter  a  and 
bearers,  in  order  to  conduct  him  to  the  sea-coast. 
Dr.  Burrough  faithfully  performed  his  part  of  the 
engagement ;  but  after  waiting  for  some  days  at  the 
appointed  place  of  meeting,  he  received  the  melan- 
choly intelligence  that  Mr.  Maclure,  after  having  left 
Mexico  and  accomplished  a  few  leagues  of  his  jour- 
ney, was  compelled  by  illness  and  consequent  ex- 
haustion to  relinquish  his  journey. 

Languid  in  body,  and  depressed  and  disappointed 
in  mind,  Mr.  Maclure  reluctantly  retraced  his  steps ; 
but  being  unable  to  reach  the  capital,  he  was  cordially 
received  into  the  country  house  of  his  friend  Valen- 
tine Gomez  Farias,  Ex-President  of  Mexico,  where 
he  received  all  the  attentions  which  hospitality  could 
dictate.  His  feeble  frame  was  capable  of  but  one 
subsequent  effort,  which  enabled  him  to  reach  the 
village  of  San  Angel ;  where,  growing  weaker  and 
weaker,  and  sensible  of  the  approach  of  death,  he 
yielded  to  the  common  lot  of  humanity  on  the  23d 
day  of  March,  1840,  in  the  seventy-seventh  year  of 
his  age. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Maclure  was  announced  to  the 
Academy  on  Tuesday  evening  the  28th  of  April,  on 


26  MEMOIR     OF 

which" occasion  the  following  resolutions  were  una- 
nimously adopted : 

Resolved,  That  the  Academy  has  learned  with  deep 
concern,  the  decease,  at  San  Angel,  near  the  city  of 
Mexico,  of  their  venerable  and  respected  President 
and  benefactor,  William  Maclure,  Esq. 

Resolved,  That  although  his  declining  health  in- 
duced him  to  reside  for  some  years  in  a  distant  and 
more  genial  clime,  this  Academy  cherishes  for  Mr. 
Maclure  the  kindest  personal  recollections,  and  a 
grateful  sense  of  his  contributions  to  the  cause  of 
Science. 

Resolved,  That  as  the  Pioneer  of  Americal  Geolo- 
gy, the  whole  country  owes  to  Mr.  Maclure  a  debt 
of  gratitude,  and  in  his  death  will  acknowledge  the 
loss  of  one  of  the  most  efficient  friends  of  Science 
and  the  Arts. 

Resolved,  That  as  the  patron  of  men  of  science, 
even  more  than  for  his  personal  researches,  Mr. 
Maclure  deserves  the  lasting  regard  of  mankind. 

Resolved,  That  a  member  of  the  Academy  be  ap- 
pointed to  prepare  and  deliver  a  discourse  commemo- 
rative of  its  lamented  President. 

Resolved,  That  the  Corresponding  Secretary  be 
requested  to  communicate  to  the  family  of  Mr.  Ma- 
clure a  copy  of  these  Resolutions. 

Thus  closed  a  life  which  had  been  devoted,  with 
untiring  energy  and  singular  disinterestedness,  to  the 


WILLIAM     MACLURE.  27 

attainment  and  diffusion  of  practical  knowledge.  No 
views  of  pecuniary  advantage,  or  personal  aggran- 
dizement, entered  into  the  motives  by  which  he  was 
governed?  his  educational  plans,  it  is  true,  were 
repeatedly  inoperative,  not  because  he  did  too  little, 
but  because  he  expected  more  than  could  be  realized 
in  the  social  institutions  by  which  he  was  surrounded. 
He  aimed  at  reforming  mankind  by  diverting  their 
attention  from  the  mere  pursuit  of  wealth  and  ambi- 
tion, to  the  cultivation  of  the  mind ;  and  espousing 
the  hypothesis  of  the  possible  "  equality  of  education, 
property  and  power"  among  men,  he  laboured  to 
counteract  that  love  of  superiority  which  appeared 
to  him  to  cause  half  the  miseries  of  our  species. 
However  fascinating  these  views  are  in  theory,  man- 
kind are  not  yet  prepared  to  reduce  them  to  practice ; 
and  without  entering  into  discussion  in  this  place  we 
may  venture  to  assert,  that  what  Religion  itself  has 
not  been  able  to  accomplish,  Philosophy  will  attempt 
in  vain. 

Mr.  Maclure's  character  habitually  expressed  itself 
without  dissimulation  or  disguise.  Educated  in  the 
old  world  almost  to  the  period  of  manhood,  and 
inflexibly  averse  to  many  of  its  established  institu- 
tions, he  was  prone  to  indulge  the  opposite  extremes 
of  opinion,  and  became  impatient  of  those  usages 
which  appeared  to  him  to  fetter  the  reason  and  em- 
barrass the  genius  of  man ;  and  while  he  rejoiced  in 
the  republican  system  of  his  adopted  country,  he 


28  MEMOIROF 

aimed  at  an  intellectual  exaltation  which,  to  common 
observation  at  least,  seems  incompatible  with  the 
wants  and  impulses  of  our  nature. 

Fully  and  justly  imbued  with  the  importance  of 
disseminating  practical  truth,  he  strove,  through  its 
influence  to  bring  the  several  classes  of  mankind 
more  on  a  level  with  each  other ;  not  by  invading 
the  privileges  of  the  rich,  but  by  educating  the  poor ; 
thus  enforcing  the  sentiment  that  "  knowledge  is 
power,"  and  that  he  who  possesses  it  will  seldom  be 
the  dupe  of  designing  and  arbitrary  minds.  With 
a  similar  motive  v  he  endeavoured  to  inculcate  the 
elements  of  Political  Economy,  by  the  publication 
of  epistolary  essays  in  a  familiar  style,  which  have 
been  embodied  in  two  volumes  with  the  title  of 
Opinions  on  Various  Subjects.  They  discover  a  bold 
and  original  mind,  and  a  fondness  for  innovation 
which  occasionally  expresses  itself  in  a  startling  sen- 
timent ;  but  however  we  may  differ  from  him  on 
various  questions,  it  must  be  conceded  that  his  views 
of  financial  operations  were  remarkably  correct, 
inasmuch  as  he  predicted  the  existing  pecuniary  em- 
barrassments of  this  country,  at  the  very  time  when 
the  great  mass  of  observers  looked  forward  to  accu- 
mulating wealth  and  unexampled  prosperity. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  Mr.  Maclure's  benevo- 
lent efforts  were  restricted  to  those  extended  schemes 
of  usefulness  to  which  we  have  so  often  adverted. 
Far,  very  far  from  it.  His  individual  and  more  pri- 


WILLIAM    MACLURE.  29 

vate  benefactions,  were  such  as  became  his  affluent 
resources,  influenced  by  a  generous  spirit.  He  habitu- 
ally extended  his  patronage  to  genius,  and  his  cordial 
support  to  those  plans  which,  in  his  view,  were 
adapted  to  the  common  interests  of  humanity.  There 
are  few  cabinets  of  Natural  History  in  our  country, 
public  or  private,  that  have  not  been  augmented 
from  his  stores ;  and  several  scientific  publications  of 
an  expensive  character,  have  been  sustained  to  com- 
pletion by  his  instrumentality.  While  in  Europe, 
he  purchased  the  copper-plate  illustrations  of  some 
important  works  both  in  science  and  art,  with  the 
intention  of  having  them  re-published  at  home  in  a 
cheaper  form,  in  order  to  render  them  accessible  to 
all  classes  of  learners.  Among  these  works  was 
Michaux's  Sylva,  which  is  now  going  through  the 
press  in  conformity  to  his  wishes. 

He  was  singularly  mild  and  unostentatious  in  his 
manner ;  and  though  a  man  of  strong  feelings,  he 
seldom  allowed  his  temper  to  triumph  over  his  judg- 
ment. Cautious  in  his  intimacies,  and  firm  in  his 
friendships,  time  and  circumstance  in  no  degree 
weakened  the  affections  of  his  earlier  years.  Though 
affable  and  communicative,  Mr.  Maclure  was  very 
much  isolated  during  the  last  thirty  years  of  his 
life ;  partly  owing  to  a  naturally  retiring  disposition, 
partly  to  the  peculiarity  of  some  of  his  opinions,  in 
respect  to  which,  though  unobtrusive,  he  was  inflexi- 
ble— but  mainly  to  that  frequent  change  of  residence 


30  MEMOIROF 

which  is  unfavourable  to  social  fellowship.  Hence 
it  is  that  of  the  thousands  who  are  familiar  with  his 
name  in  the  annals  of  Science,  comparatively  few 
can  speak  of  him  from  personal  knowledge. 

In  person  he  was  above  the  middle  stature,  and  of 
a  naturally  robust  frame.  His  constitution  was  elas- 
tic, and  capable  of  much  endurance  of  privation  and 
fatigue,  which  he  attributed  chiefly  to  the  undevia- 
ting  simpliciiy  of  his  diet.  His  head  was  large,  his 
forehead  high  and  expanded,  his  nose  acquiline ;  and 
his  collective  features  were  expressive  of  that  undis- 
turbed serenity  of  mind  which  was  a  conspicuous 
trait  of  his  character. 

Those  who  knew  him  in  early  life,  represent  him 
to  have  been  remarkable  for  personal  endowments ; 
a  fact  which  is  evident  in  the  full-length  portrait  now 
in  possession  of  his  family,  and  which  was  painted 
upwards  of  forty  years  ago  by  the  celebrated  North- 
cote.  The  engraved  likeness  which  accompanies 
this  memoir,  is  copied  from  a  portrait  taken  by  Mr . 
Sully,  in  1824,  at  which  period  Mr.  Maclure  was 
about  sixtv-three  years  of  asre. 

•/•  J  O 

Such  was  WILLIAM  MACLURE,  whose  long,  active 
and  useful  life  is  the  subject  of  this  brief  and  inade- 
quate memorial.  His  remains  are  entombed  in  a  dis- 
tant land,  and  even  there  the  spirit  of  affection  has 
raised  a  tablet  to  his  memory.  But  his  greater  and 
more  enduring  monument,  is  the  edifice  within  whose 
walls  we  are  now  met  to  recount  and  perpetuate  his 


WILLIAM     MACLURE.  31 

virtues.  Wherever  we  turn  our  eyes  we  behold  the 
proofs  of  his  talent,  his  zeal,  his  munificence.  We 
see  an  Institution  which,  under  his  fostering  care,  has 
already  attained  the  manhood  of  Science,  and  is  des- 
tined to  connect  his  name  with  those  beautiful  truths 
which  formed  the  engrossing  subject  of  his  thoughts 
We  see  around  us  the  collections  that  were  made  with 
his  own  hands,  vastly  augmented,  it  is  true,  by  the 
zeal  of  those  who  have  been  stimulated  by  his  ex- 
anple.  Here  are  the  books  which  he  read — to  him 
the  fountains  of  pleasure  and  instruction.  Here  has 
he  concentrated  the  works  of  nature,  the  sources  of 
knowledge,  the  incentives  to  study ;  and,  actuated  by 
his  liberal  spirit,  we  open  our  doors  to  all  inquiring 
minds,  and  invite  them  to  participate,  with  us,  in 
these  invaluable  acquisitions ;  and  while  we  regard 
them  as  a  trust  to  be  transmitted  unblemished  to  pos- 
terity, let  us  honour  the  name  and  cherish  the  memory 
of  the  man  from  whom  we  derived  them.* 

*Mr.  Maclure  died  before  he  had  accomplished  all  his  views  in 
respect  to  this  Institution ;  for,  looking  forward,  as  he  did,  to  re- 
newed personal  intercourse  with  its  members,  he  intended  to  inquire 
for  himself  into  the  most  available  modes  of  extending  its  useful, 
ness.  This,  as  we  have  seen,  was  denied  him ;  but  the  Spirit  of 
Science  which  was  inherent  in  him,  has  descended  upon  his  brother 
and  sister ;  and  to  these  estimable  and  enlightened  individuals,  we 
owe  the  consummation  of  all  that  their  brother  had  proposed  in  re- 
ference to  the  Academy,  which  will  be  hereafter  enabled  to  devote 
its  resources  exclusively  to  the  advancement  of  those  objects  for 
which  it  was  founded. 


APPENDIX. 

List  of  Mr.  Madure's  Published  Works  and  Memoirs. 

The  following  list  embraces  the  separate  works 
(two  in  number)  and  miscellaneous  papers  written 
by  Mr.  Maclure  during  his  residence  in  the  United 
States.  It  is  not  presumed  that  the  list  is  complete  . 
for  it  is  more  than  probable  that  he  contributed  some- 
thing to  the  periodical  journals  of  England,  France , 
Spain,  and  perhaps  Mexico,  whilst  resident  in  those 
countries. 

A  reference  to  the  following  Essays  will  show  how 
exclusively  Mr.  Maclure's  mind  was  devoted  to  mat- 
ters of  fact,  seldom  indulging  in  hypothesis,  and  never 
yielding  himself,  at  least  in  his  writings,  to  purely 
imaginative  reflections. 

1.  Observations  on  the  Geology  of  the  United  States  of 

America,  with  some  Remarks  on  the  Nature  and  Fer- 
tility of  Soils,  &c.  Svo.  Philad.  1817.  This  is  a  cor- 
rected reprint  from  the  Trans,  of  the  Amer.  Philos. 
Soc. 

2.  Opinions  on  Various  Subjects,  2  vols.  Svo.    This  work 

is  epistolary,  and  was  chiefly  written  in  Mexico. 
It  embraces  reflections  on  many  subjects,  but  is 
mainly  devoted  to  Political  Economy. 
Memoirs  in  the  Journal  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences 
of  Philadelphia : 

1.  Observations  on  the   [Geology  of  the]  West  India 
,     Islands,  from  Barbadoes  to  Santa  Cruz,  inclusive. 
Vol.  I,  p.  134. 


APPENDIX  33 

2.  Essay  on  the  Formation  of  Rocks ;  or  an  Inquiry  into 
their  probable  Origin,  and  their  present  Form  and 
Structure.     Vol.  I,  p.  261. 
Memoirs  in  the  American  Philosophical  Transactions  : 

1.  Observations  on  the  Geology  of  the  United  States,  ex- 

planatory of  a  Geological  Map.  Vol.  VI,  p.  91.  1809, 

2.  The  same  Memoir,  corrected  and  extended.     Vol.  I. 

New  Series,  1S17. 

Memoirs  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science  and  Art,  con- 
ducted by  Professor  Silliman  : 

1.  Hints  on  some  of  the  Outlines  of  Geological  Arrange- 

ment.    Vol.  I,  p.  209 

2.  Conjectures  on  the  probable  changes  that  have  taken 

place  in  the  Geology  of  the  Continent  of  America, 
east  of  the  Stony  Mountains.     Vol.  VI,  p.  98. 

3.  Miscellaneous  Remarks  on  the  Systematic  Arrange- 

ment of  Rocks,  and  on  their  probable  Origin.    Vol. 
VII,  p.  261. 

4.  Notice  of  the  Anthracite  Region  of  Pennsylvania, 

Vol.  X,  p.  205. 

5.  Remarks  on  the  Igneous  Theory  of  the  Earth.     Vol. 

XVI,  p.  351. 

6.  Geological  Remarks  relating  to  Mexico.     Vol.  XX. 

p.  406.     The  same  periodical  also  contains  many 
detached  Observations,  and  fragments  of  letters  com- 
municated to  the  Editor  of  that  work. 
Memoirs  published  in  the  Journal  de  Physique,  de  Chimie 
et  d'Histoire  Naturelle,  Paris  : 

1.  Extrait  d'une  Lettre  de  M.  William  Maclure,  &  J.  C. 

Delametherie  sur  la  Geologic  des  Etats  Unis.  Tome 
69,  p.  201.     (1809.) 

2.  Observations  sur  la  Geologic  des  Etats  Unis,  servant 

a  expliquer  une  Carte  Geologique.     Tome  69,  p. 
204.     (1809.) 

This  last  memoir  is  a  translation  from  the  original  in  the 
American  Philosophical  Transactions. 


NOTE. 

The  Hall  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadel- 
phia is  situated  at  the  corner  of  Broad  and  George  streets, 
forty-five  feet  front  on  the  former,  and  eighty-five  feet  in 
depth  on  the  latter.  The  building  is  fire-proof,  and  presents 
a  single  saloon  .with  three  ranges  of  galleries,  beneath  which, 
in  the  basement,  is  a  lecture-room  capable  of  accommodating 
four  hundred  persons. 

The  institution  was  founded  in  1812  and  incorporated  in 
1817,  and  enjoys  a  perpetual  exemption  from  taxation  by 
legislative  enactment. 

The  Museum  embraces  extensive  collections  in  every  de- 
partment of  Natural  History,  arranged  according  to  the  most 
approved  systems,  viz  : 

2500  Minerals. 

3000  Fossil  Organic  Remains. 

10,000  Species  of  Insects. 

2400  Species  of  Shells. 

1000  Species  of  Fishes  and  Reptiles. 

1500  Species  of  Birds;  a  small  but  valuable  collection  of 
Quadrupeds,  and  an  extensive  series  in  Comparative  Anat- 
omy. 

The  Herbarium  contains  about  35,000  species  of  plants, 
arranged  according  to  the  natural  system. 

The  Library  embraces  7000  volumes,  and  is  alwars  acces- 
sible to  members,  and  to  visitors  attended  by  members,  except- 
ing only  those  occasions  when  the  Academy  is  open .  to  the 
public,  viz  : — on  the  afternoon  of  Tuesday  and  Saturday. 

Admission  free  of  charge. 


000948254 " 


THE  LIBRARY 

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